Face Off
by Kronos
Summary: My take on the final hand to hand battle between Snake and Liquid near the end of the game. May be more to this afterwards


Face Off  Disclaimer - I do not own any of the characters in this story, and of course have made no money at all from this story (worse luck) 

_So this is what it comes down to. In this world of nuclear weapons, of guns, of bombs… it all comes down to hand to hand. Gray Fox was right; this is what everything is based on._

The two adversaries faced off on the top of the massive wreckage that had once been the most powerful weapon in the world. It was destroyed now, a crumpled mass of metal, like the body of some prehistoric beast. Yet he was still there. His brother, his twin, his reflection. Liquid Snake 

Snake didn't know how he had survived. How either of them had survived for that matter. Yet here they were, both bare-chested, and facing off like fighters in a ring. Except this ring was surrounded by ropes of air. A fall from this height would be fatal. Liquid stood there with, arms crossed against his chest smiling. Arrogant to the end. 

Snake stole a glance to his left where Meryl lay. Unconscious and bound securely, she slumped motionless against the steel. She had never looked more helpless then she did right then, and he even surprised himself with how much he had grown to care for her. Anger rushed through him as he saw the fresh bruises on her face, and the dried blood on her clothes. 

_Those bastards. They'll pay for this._

He didn't have much time. Soon the nukes would be falling, just as the Secretary of Defense had planned. They would all die then, and all the evidence that Metal Gear even existed would be annihilated with them. He clenched his fists 

_Even if I die, I'm going to make sure Liquid goes before me._

All these thoughts flashed through his head in seconds. Then he assumed a fighting stance; fists held in front of his face and studied his opponent. 

Liquid Snake. His twin who he had never even known existed. Liquid's blonde hair was matted to his forehead by a bloody gash, and his muscular upper body displayed several cuts. His icy blue eyes stared back at Snake with fiery hate, as he too assumed a fighting stance. All the while the smile never left his face. 

"Have at you Snake!" he cried, and they both rushed forward. 

Straight away Snake realized he was up against an excellent hand to hand fighter. Liquid sprang forward and lashed out with punches and kicks; each placed with precision on his body. Snake was forced to retreat, desperately blocking the furious onslaught. His hate for Snake seemed to turn Liquid into a demon with superhuman strength. He was laughing the whole time like some psychotic madman. 

"Come on Snake! Time's running out!" 

Liquid charged like a bull, putting the full weight of his body behind a vicous shoulder block that caught Snake in the stomach. The air rushed out of him and he fell backwards, his head cracking the cold steel. His vision blurred and for a few seconds he saw stars. He saw Liquid walking away, backing up a few steps to perform the killing blow. From his position on the ground, he turned his head and spotted Meryl. 

_I can't die here; I have to save her!_

Snake rose unsteadily to his feet. His head ached and his body was ravaged with pain. But he ignored it all, keeping Meryl's smiling face in his mind. He couldn't let her down again. For a second, the confident look melted away from Liquid's face. Then with a snarl, he rushed forward again. 

This time Snake was prepared, and met Liquid blow for blow. For several minutes the two men - almost identical, yet also so different - battled back and forth on the immense machine. Despite getting his second wind, Snake still knew he was outmatched. Liquid was a far better fighter, and he was tiring rapidly. Gradually Liquid forced him back until he was at the very edge of Metal Gear. The end was near. Snake caught a hard blow to the face and felt a tooth loosen. He staggered back. 

"It's over Snake! Die!" Liquid, seeing his opportunity hurtled himself at his brother, determined to end it. Snake was barely conscious and put all his remaining strength into one last move. In his overconfidence, Liquid came in too fast and this allowed Snake to duck and throw his brother smoothly over his shoulder. Over the edge. 

He saw Liquid's face as he went over. It was a mask of hate, his features contorted in anger and rage. His scream echoed in the huge hanger and was then abruptly cut off 

Snake staggered over to where Meryl lay and took her limp form in his arms, quickly releasing her bonds. Gently he shook her trying to bring her around. For a frightening second, he thought she wasn't going to wake up at all. So when her eyes finally opened and focused on him he let out a cry of relief. 

"Sn… Snake?" she murmured, her eyes slowly coming into focus. "Snake…. Is that you?" 

"It's me." He was surprised when she threw her arms around his neck and held her body close to his chest. "Snake! I'm so glad to see you… I thought you were dead" 

"Likewise." He let a small smile play across his lips. "Glad I was wrong. Can you walk?" He helped her get to her feet. She was a little shaky, but after a moment could walk unaided. She had guts all right. She wouldn't let go of his hand though, and a part of him liked that. 

"I knew you'd save me Snake. I couldn't let myself give up… no matter what they did. I knew you'd come for me." She smiled. "Thank you." 

"Let's get down from here Meryl. It's not over yet." Her smile vanished and they slowly clambered down the immense metal beast. Snake could hear evacuation sirens beginning to wail in the distance. They were almost out of time. 

Authors Notes - This was something I wrote basically off the top of my head, and I do realize the dialogue isn't correct, but I'm not trying to stay COMPLETELY faithful to the game! It wasn't until I read down the list of Metal Gear stories I realised this has already been done... oh well. If I get time I'll probably continue this by adding the jeep chase and then end of game parts just to make it a bit more interesting 


End file.
